Infographic: Controlling Transposons En Masse

Researchers repurpose the CRISPR machinery to turn whole classes of transposable elements on or off.

ruth williams
| 1 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
1:00
Share

Investigate how transposons affect nearby genes, a vector containing 12 slightly different gRNAs targeted to a particular retroviral element is introduced into cells together with a Cas9-activator or -repressor fusion protein. The Cas9 protein associates with the gRNAs, and the subtle sequence differences of the gRNAs allow almost all copies of the targeted retroviral element to be switched on or off at once.

Read the full story.

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to digital editions of The Scientist, as well as TS Digest, feature stories, more than 35 years of archives, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here

Meet the Author

  • ruth williams

    Ruth Williams

    Ruth is a freelance journalist.

Published In

January 2019

Cannabis on Board

Research suggests ill effects of cannabinoids in the womb

Share
Image of a woman in a microbiology lab whose hair is caught on fire from a Bunsen burner.
April 1, 2025, Issue 1

Bunsen Burners and Bad Hair Days

Lab safety rules dictate that one must tie back long hair. Rosemarie Hansen learned the hard way when an open flame turned her locks into a lesson.

View this Issue
Conceptual image of biochemical laboratory sample preparation showing glassware and chemical formulas in the foreground and a scientist holding a pipette in the background.

Taking the Guesswork Out of Quality Control Standards

sartorius logo
An illustration of PFAS bubbles in front of a blue sky with clouds.

PFAS: The Forever Chemicals

sartorius logo
Unlocking the Unattainable in Gene Construction

Unlocking the Unattainable in Gene Construction

dna-script-primarylogo-digital
Concept illustration of acoustic waves and ripples.

Comparing Analytical Solutions for High-Throughput Drug Discovery

sciex

Products

Atelerix

Atelerix signs exclusive agreement with MineBio to establish distribution channel for non-cryogenic cell preservation solutions in China

Green Cooling

Thermo Scientific™ Centrifuges with GreenCool Technology

Thermo Fisher Logo
Singleron Avatar

Singleron Biotechnologies and Hamilton Bonaduz AG Announce the Launch of Tensor to Advance Single Cell Sequencing Automation

Zymo Research Logo

Zymo Research Launches Research Grant to Empower Mapping the RNome